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Trick Fiction

by Paul Mark & The Van Dorens

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  • Digital Album
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    "'Fritos, BBQ & Scotch', the searing opening track of Paul Mark & the Van Dorens' 'Trick Fiction', calls to mind the late, great Albert King, and grabs your attention...lt shows Mark to be a gifted songwriter and guitarist, with the right gritty voice to carry it all off "
    - Blues in Britain
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    "'Trick Fiction', recorded in Memphis at Ardent Studios, is jam-packed with killer guitar and some of the coolest lyrics we've heard in quite some time!...A definite breath of fresh air on the blues scene, Paul Mark and the Van Dorens have hit it big with 'Trick Fiction'."
    - Music City Blues
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    CD version of the breakthrough collection, Trick Fiction, from Paul Mark & the Van Dorens.

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1.
Fritos, BBQ & Scotch 04:58 video
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(Words/music by P.Mark) When my wife went home to her mother Boys I turned it up a notch Seven days living on nothing but Fritos, BBQ and scotch They say the stuff will kill you But you know that’s a crock No medicine works better than Fritos, BBQ and scotch She called me up on day one, asking how are things at home I said no need to hurry back, I got plenty going on On day three she asks who’s there with you, ain’t no use in denying I asked, how’s your mother, she said now I know your lying On day five she shouts I’m coming home to cleanse our house of sin She found me face down on the couch with my three special friends You might call it cheating, call it l lying but it’s not The good book’s got no rules about Fritos, BBQ and scotch There’s two paths you can walk down I gave them both a shot Between paradise and hellfire I choose Fritos, BBQ and scotch © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved
2.
Big Glass Building 05:05
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Little cousin Cal pulled his hook from the river, fried up his catch in a pan Stumbled to his cabin doubled-up coughing, dropped down onto the bed The doctor said it looks bad. He said, what’s he doing eating from there? Uncle Jonah picked his gun from the mantle And headed off towards that big glass building Saying, I got something that’ll cure that coughing Slow Toby fancied TV to reading, smoked himself trey packs a day When the cancer took him he was dim to the reasons The man told him smokes are OK Now Toby’s dumb in his grave The lawyer said we got no case Uncle Jonah grabbed his gun from the mantle And headed off towards that big glass building Saying, I got something that’ll cure that coughing Same soot that caked on old Bessie’s window melted the ice caps away She went down sucking wind from a respirator, her bayou home laid to waste The water line kept climbing Mud slowly dragging everything away Uncle Jonah grabbed his gun from the mantle And headed off towards that big glass building Saying, I got something that’ll cure that coughing © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
3.
Suspicion 03:47
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4.
Never Again 03:28
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Tried it once, never again Tried it once, never again You won’t get me up in one of them things Tried it once, never again Round trip flight to Memphis, bought it two weeks in advance Now I’m sleeping at LaGuardia they overbooked again Tried it once, never again The food was bad, the movie was worse The flight attendant’s smile was a drug store curse Tried it once, never again Weather over Memphis, pilot said we couldn’t land Touched down in Nash-Vegas with a free drink in my hands Tried it once, never again I wrote to the man about how they trashed my plans Got a letter saying thank you please fly with us again Tried it once, never again © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
5.
Conspiracy 05:14
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Round every corner there’s a plot to bring you down Deception’s in the details, double-dealing’s all over town You might say I’m crazy, but your eyes just don’t see Round every corner I smell conspiracy The mailman reads my letters The state’s tapped into my phone The landlord goes through my house whenever I’m not home There’s something in the water And slow poison in my food I tried calling the police but they’re in on it too There’s a camera every corner and a mic in every room They’re drilling beneath the sidewalk, I can feel it in my shoes People say I’m crazy but their eyes just don’t see Round every corner I smell conspiracy There are eyes in the night sky And forces that can kill My kids are eying my wallet And my wife’s asking about my will People say I’m crazy, but that’s part of what’s killing me Round every corner I smell conspiracy © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
6.
Fear of Grief 03:18
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(Words/music by P.Mark) I have no wife, no children No loyal dog sleeping at my feet But I have my life, and my sleep at night And I have my fear of grief My friends and relations they are many The valleys between us grow so deep Highways winding home, jet planes and telephones Move slower than my fear of grief High priests and market makers Trample the earth for all they seek But there is no darkness, no terrible swift sword Blind as my fear of grief There’s love in the stars that look down on us A love a true as gravity And there’s a love that stands alone, hard as a stone Buried within my fear of grief © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
7.
30 Lbs. in 30 Days 04:26
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(Words/music by P.Mark) I saw it on a talk show, how to change my losing ways So I bought it at the bookstore with the last of my factory pay A how-to guide to a better life 30 lbs. in 30 days After two weeks I was nowhere, bathroom scale ain’t moved a peg After three weeks I was nowhere but I did not loose the faith I knew I I could, the book said I would, loose 30 lbs. in 30 days. The TV’s talking to me The mirror’s talking to me The eyes of strangers are talking to me Saying you ain’t what you’re supposed to be I went to see my doctor He said give it up boy you’ve been played I went to see my doctor, he said the problem’s in your head Only prize fighters and castaways can loose 30 lbs. in 30 days. Now I’m talking on a talk show, a man of wealth a man of weight Finally figured out how to weave my words, writing ‘em down and making ‘em pay Two books a year about how to clear 30 lbs. in 30 days Fleecing the fools who are trying to loose 30 lbs. in 30 days. © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
8.
Wholly Rollin' 03:49
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Holy darkness, holy light Holy visions, holy night Holy stories, holy tales Holy fishes, holy whales It don’t matter if you’re in a crowd Or standing all alone You’re holy/wholly on your own Holy borders, holy lands Holy rivers, holy lines in the sand Holy cities, holy streets Holy shepherds fleecing holy sheep Holy heaven, holy bells Holy music, holy hell Holy prophets, holy fools Holy children off to holy schools Holy ceiling, holy floor Holy soldiers guarding holy doors Holy blessing, holy curse Holy terror, holy chapter and verse Holy mystery, holy books Holy castles for holy crooks Holy idols, holy cows Holy mackerel, holy and how © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
9.
Stake Out 04:54
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(Music by P.Mark)
10.
Times Have Changed 03:29
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Times have changed Times have changed, so have you Been a change in the weather and a change in your point of view Times have changed Times have changed, so have I Been a change in the weather now we don’t see eye to eye You read the morning paper, you walk across the floor The picture on the mantel it don’t look like you no more Times have changed, so have you Been a change in the weather and a change in your point of view You used to bust ‘em up with every word you said Now the jokes you’re telling got me scratching at my head Times have changed, so have you Been a change in the weather and a change in your point of view © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
11.
Small Heaven 03:54
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(Words/music by P.Mark) First time I saw Paris I was thinking about New York First time I drove through the South I was running from the North The day the roof came off the house I knew I’d always have a home The night that I heard that Howlin’ Wolf I knew I’d always live alone Less is more and more is worse The first shall be last and the last shall be first Kings will come and when they’re done On earth there’ll be some small heaven with you First time I put down roots I was waiting on a train First time I looked into the sun I was sleeping in the rain One day you fall into the sea They say boy it’s sink or swim When you come up with the whitest pearl They say it don’t belong to him When at last I climbed the stairs I found just another floor When I finally found the key I could not find the door © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
12.
Riverside Diner 06:34
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Doc Pomus in his wheelchair Lone Star Café, Fifth Ave. Doc Pomus in his wheelchair Lone Star Café, Fifth Ave. With Big Joe Turner, checking the tunes Licking their beers and sipping their wounds Headlights flashing towards the station Pressing down on the steel road Metal thunders past the platform Train don’t stop in this town no more We got a schoolboy in the big house Slamming doors and blowing smoke We got a schoolboy in the big house Slamming doors and blowing smoke Covering his ears and starting a war Hoping his god will carry him home I saw Jesus in the Riverside Diner Working coffee and a smoke I saw Jesus in the Riverside Diner Working coffee and a smoke His head was hanging low Wondering where it all went wrong © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.

about

"Sensational...If 'Trick Fiction' has so far gone unnoticed outside the northeastern and eastern United States, that needs to quickly be corrected.
- Blues Wax
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"As funky and spontaneous as [Memphis’] finest music… The performances [on 'Trick Fiction"' are consistently inspired…Mark’s lyrics go places other blues-based artists just don't try.”
- Blues Revue Magazine
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"'Trick Fiction' is roots rock with that deep soul vibe...While the Van Dorens play rough, ragged and relentless music that will get you on your feet, the real attraction is the wit and wisdom of singer/guitarist Paul Mark, who definitely mines seldom-explored veins with his original lyrics."
- Blues Bytes
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Forget the prefab corporate airbrushed sound of contemporary American “rock” music: 'Trick Fiction' is the real deal, twanging, overdriven guitars over relentless grooves and some of the most distinctive blues lyrics written by anyone, anywhere.

'Trick Fiction' contains 11 new songs by Paul Mark, including the instant swamp classic Big Glass Building, a sound solution to global warming. Included as well is the big-time blues lifestyle proclamation 'Fritos, BBQ & Scotch' which Albert King might (repeat, might) smile over. And take a listen to the soulful instrumental groove of 'Stake Out', where Booker T meets Kenny Burrell. For those given to over-indulgence there’s the raucous, cautionary tale '30 Lbs. in 30 Days'. A cover version of the Pomus/Shuman gem, 'Suspicio'n, takes a dark, late-night turn. And included here is a solo piano interlude, 'Small Heaven', that might be the best ballad Mark’s ever penned.

But the final track, Riverside Diner, is where it all comes home, a raucous train on a righteous track towards salvation in a world that’s cast out its heroes and instead relies on the folly of fools. Trick Fiction ain’t for fools...It’s where the train STOPS. You dig MTV, American Idol and today's "rock" radio?? Find another CD, this ain't your thing...

credits

released January 1, 2006

Produced by Paul Mark and Jeff Powell
Mixed by Paul Mark and Jeff Powell
Recorded/mixed at Ardent Studios, Memphis TN
Assistant engineer: Adam Hill
Mastered by Scott Hull, NYC

James Strain - Bass
Dan Schnapp - Hammond organ, piano
Josh Wheeler - Drums
Susan Marshall, Jackie Johnson - Background vocals
P.Mark - Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, percussion

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Paul Mark & The Van Dorens New York, New York

Triple-threat songwriter-musician-producer Paul Mark has been mystifying critics and barflies for decades. With a striking lyrical edge and an encyclopedic facility with American roots music, NYC-based Paul Mark has built a top-drawer original song catalog that tugs on the ears of the literary as well as the liquidated. Mark is principal owner of Radiation Records. ... more

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